On Review: ProLimaTech Megahalems

Installing the Megahalems was probably the simplest installation of “complicated” looking hardware in my life! Unlike heatsinks of old, this heatsink doesn’t require an astronaut to install it.

The mounting mechanism required no screw drivers – you are instructed to install the screws via thumb. Mounting the heatsink onto the mounting mechanism does require 2 screws to be tightened via screw driver, however this is simple, and the screws can only go in as far as they need to. Thanks to the use of suspension-like springs between the heatsink screws and the mounting mechanism, you can’t really install it incorrectly! I think I may even trust a member of my computer-illiterate family to install it (but probably wouldn’t unless I had impaired judgement :P).

The coolers were tested by taking Idle (taken after 10minutes of 0% CPU load) and Load (using Orthos for 30minutes) CPU temperatures. Temperatures were taken using RealTemp.

Whilst recording the CPU temperatures, I also took note of the ambient temperature. By taking the ambient temp from the CPU temp, we get the “difference” or “Delta” temperature.

For an explanation of delta temperatures, click here.

As the ProLimaTech Megahalems did not come with a fan, I used my Scythe Kaze (running at approx 1400rpm) fan to allow a fair comparison. As I said earlier, I imagine the reason that ProLimaTech don’t include a fan is so that you can choose your own.

At idle, it is quite clear that the ProLimaTech Megahalems is performing more effectively than the OCZ Vendetta 2 – a whole 3c difference at idle temps is quite substantial.

There is a constant difference between Core 1 and Core 2 of around 5-6c whilst idle, however this difference disappears under load.

Under load, the Megahalems takes a slightly more substantial lead ahead of the Vendetta 2 – a whole 5c across both cores.

To test the HSFs abilities at higher voltages, I racked up the voltage from 1.3v to 1.4v. This allowed me to raise the CPU speed from 3.4Ghz to 3.75Ghz.

At these speeds, the idle temps are still quite low. However, strangely the ProLimaTech Megahalems managed to reduce the idle temp from 6c to 5c. I assume that this could be due to my PSU pulling more air through the case, or another random factor. However as it is only 1c, I believe it does not invalidate the results.

We can see that whilst at higher voltages, the Megahalems still manages to beat the OCZ Vendetta 2 - a whole 4ºC cooler. Bearing in mind the heat that my CPU must have been producing at this time, I would say this is an achievement for the Megahalems.

Another thing worth mentioning is the low noise the Megahalems produced during testing. Whilst I was using my own Scythe fan, I’ve found on many heatsinks that at high speeds, poorly thought out air flow design can cause noise – this was not an issue with the well refined Megahalems cooler.

Next Page – Conclusion